A sold-out crowd of over 450 individuals attended the 28th Annual Delaware Healthcare Forum on October 29, 2024. DHA Board Chair and Beebe Healthcare President & CEO Dr. David Tam and DHA President & CEO Brian Frazee kicked off the event.
Katie Boston-Leary, PhD, MHA, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FADLN, Senior Vice President of Equity and Engagement for the American Nurses Association discussed how healthcare leaders can “avoid the iceberg” in navigating the future of healthcare.
Kathryn Fiddler, DNP, MBA, RN, Vice President of Population 
Health for TidalHealth led a panel focused on how Delaware healthcare systems are working to advance health equity. The panel featured the following health equity experts: Kim Blanch, BSN, RN, Director of Community Outreach, Beebe Healthcare; Debbie Smith, MBA, (she/her) Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Bayhealth; Lavisha Pelaez, MPH, Health Equity Operations & Evaluation Scientist, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Alignment, Nemours Children’s Health; and Jacqueline Ortiz, M. Phil, Vice President of Health Equity & Cultural Competence, ChristianaCare. Many of these leaders in health equity described how they are using data to inform areas of need as well as strategies they can utilize to improve health outcomes for all.
Improving health for all was also a theme of the next panel on healthcare access and affordability. The panel was moderated by William Chasanov, DO, MBA, FACP, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Systems Design Officer, Beebe Healthcare and featured the following panelists: Stephanie Gary, CPA, MBA, FACHE, Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer (CFO), TidalHealth; Lillian Schonewolf, VP Community Health & Well Being, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic Region & Executive Director Healthy Village at Saint Francis; Christine Donohue-Henry, M.D., MBA, Chief Population Health Officer at Christiana Care & President and CEO of eBrightHealth ACO; Gary Siegelman, MD, MSc, CPE, Chief Medical Officer and Designated Institutional Official, Bayhealth; and Alexander Koster, MA, CHCIO, CDH-E, AVP, Value Transformation, Nemours Children’s Health. With healthcare costs increasing across the nation, these leaders discussed ways their health systems are investing in primary and preventative care, addressing social drivers of health, pursuing value based care, and more to improve health and reduce costs.
DHA presented several awards during the event to honor
individuals who led efforts this year to advance DHA’s goal to enable every Delawarean to reach optimal health. Cathy Judge Cardillo, MBA Regional Director Advocacy, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic was awarded the AHA Grassroots Champion Award for her leadership on the DHA Policy Committee during a particularly busy legislative year. Janice Nevin, MD, MPH president and CEO of ChristianaCare received the AHA Most Valuable PAC Player Award for her commitment to elect candidates at the state and federal level who support hospitals and health systems.
DHA honored two Delaware state representatives with the 2024 DHA Legislator of the Year Award. Representative Kerri Evelyn Harris and Representative Valerie Jones Giltner championed and defended Delaware hospitals and the patients and communities they serve.
Matt Meyer, Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee and Mike Ramone, Republican Gubernatorial Nominee, faced off in a discussion about their healthcare platforms and answered questions about their views on HB 350 and other top issues facing the First State.
Dr. Steve Berkowitz, Founder and President of SMB Health Consulting provided the latest insight into what leaders need to know about Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.
Finally, Elizabeth Campbell, JD, Director of Diversity
, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB), Beebe Healthcare led the ACHE panel on Developing An Environment of Civility & Respect. The expert panelists for this discussion included: Vanessa Downing, PhD, PCC, Executive Coach, Congruence Coaching & Consultation; Michael Knorr, MNS, RN, NEA-BC, Vice President Patient Care Services, Acute Medicine Service Line, Christiana Care; and Carla Mitchell-Penny, SHRM-SCP, CLRP, Director of Human Resources Operations, Bayhealth. This discussion explored addressing workplace violence and other challenges and opportunities to foster the right culture in the workplace.
For questions about the 28th Annual Healthcare Forum, or information on next year’s forum, please contact Yasmine Chinoy at yasmine@deha.org.